Pokémon TCG World Champions Crowned

Elite players battled in San Diego for the title of Pokémon World Champion.

The Pokémon Company International has today announced the winners of its Pokémon World Championship, which took place in San Diego, California.

The 2011 Pokémon World Championships brought thousands of the world's best Pokémon players together to battle for the title of World Champion, after advancing through nearly a year of regional and national tournaments around the world.

Following an intense final round of Trading Card Game and video game battles, six seasoned individuals were crowned World Champions, proudly representing their family, supporters, and home countries. The 2011 Pokémon World Championship winners are as follows:

2011 Pokémon Video Game Senior Division World Champion, Kamran Jahadi from the USA

2011 Pokémon TCG Masters Division World Champion, David Cohen from the USA

2011 Pokémon Video Game Masters Division World Champion, Ray Rizzo from the USA

Speaking on the Pokémon World Championship website, Pokémon TCG Senior Division World Champion Christopher Kan admitted: "I got pretty lucky. Marco [Facchin, Senior Division Runner-Up] got a lot of tails in the first game that allowed me to catch up after being down. Then in the second game, it looked like I was out of it again, but this time he ran out of Energy and eventually his deck ran out of cards."

Director of Consumer Marketing J.C Smith said: "The Pokémon World Championships is more than a tournament; it's a global event for our entire community to compete, have fun, and create lifelong friendships".